Door securing mechanism



D. zo, 1493s. w. YOUNG 2,140,570

DOOR SEGURING MEQHANISM.

Filed July l2, 1937 A 2 ShQetS-Sheet l o um g -10 Illu o Patented Dec.20, 1938 PATENT OFFICE amsn nooasnouame uacnmsn wurm rm, wummm. n. c.

Appunti myn. im, sum No. 15am is claim. '(cL 2oz-z5) 'Ihis inventionrelates to mechanism for se- 1 curing doors, hatches and other closuresin closed f 'l5 of being forced into releasing position by pressures towhich the door may be subjected.

A rprimary feature of the invention consists in providing a closure witha rotatable shaft exc tending along the inner face thereof, the shaft 30being adapted to operate a plurality of members each having a,shouldered portion adapted to have f hooked engagement with brackets orthe like for securing the closure in closed position.'

Another feature of the invention consists in providing a closure withrotatable shafts extending lengthwise adjacent opposite side edgesthereof, each of said shafts being provided with a pluf ralityof'members movable in planes substantially normal to the axis ofrotation of the shaft 30 and said members respectively having shoulderedportions adapted to have hooked engagement. with brackets or the likefor securing the closure against opening movement, means being mountedon the closure between the shafts for rotat- Y r-i having shoulderedmembers radapted to have hooked engagement with means for .securing theclosure against opening movement and being movably connected wherebythey are adapted to rotate simultaneously to actuate the shouldered 'i5members.

A still further feature of the invention consists in providing a door orthe like with a rotatable shaft which extends along the inner facethereof and has a plurality of shouldered members adapted to have hookedengagement with brackets for securing the door against opening movement,the brackets being adjustable so as to compensate for wear of the partsand inaccuracies of manufacture and thus insure the maintenance g of atight closure of the door at all times.

Other and more specific features of the invention. residing inadvantageous forms, combinations and relations of parts, willhereinafter appear land be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, wherein the invention is shown as applied to a bulkheaddoor,

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the inner face of the door andadjacent portions of a bulkhead.

Figure 2 is a detail sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the relativeposition of parts of the mechi anism as the closure approaches closedposition.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the relative positionof parts of the mechanism when the closure is fully closed.

Figure 'l is an enlarged view of a portion of the means whereby themechanism is operated.

Figures 8, 9, and 10 are diagrammatic views showing successive positionsoccupied by a portion of the operating means as it moves from doorsecuring to door releasing position.

Figure 11 is a rear view of one of the adjustable brackets.

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 6 illustrating a door having aslightly different construction adjacent its edges.

Figure 13 is a similar view illustrating still another doorconstruction.

Although, for purposes of illustration, `the invention has been shown asapplied to a bulkhead door, it will be appreciated that it is capable ofgeneral application and may be used with equal facility in anyenvironment where it is desired to effect the tight closure of anopening.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I indicates a metal doorwhich is hingedly mounted upon a bulkhead 2 for closing an opening inthe latter. The particular door illustrated is reinforced by a centrallylocated inwardly offset portion 3 and by a plurality of transverse platemembers l, which extend continuously across the inner face of the doorand terminate at the vinturned marginalfianges 5 thereof. The hingemounting ofthe door is of conventional construction including hingestraps 6 secured to the door andv provided with elongated slots forreceiving pins or the like `I carried by hinge butts 8 mounted upon thebulkhead.

The mechanism for securing or locking the door in closed positionincludes two rotatable shafts l which extend lengthwise along the innerface of the door adjacent opposite side edges thereof, being mounted insuitable bearings III which are secured in any desirable manner `to thedoor.

Each of shafts 9 is preferably formed in a plurality of tubular sectionsand the adjacent ends of the sections of each shaft are so connectedthat the sections are capable of slight angular movement with respect toeach other to compensate for misalignment ofthe bearings. 'I'heconnections between the shaft sections may be advantageously effected byforming one of the adjoining ends of each section withv an enlargedportion II into which the adjoining end of the adjacent section projectsand by providing the latter, section with laterally extending bosses I2which are received within slots or recesses I3 in the enlargements II.

Rigidly mounted on each of the shafts 9 is a plurality of members I4,each of which has a shoulder or ledge I5 adapted to hook over the outerend of a bracket I6 which is mounted on the. inner side of the bulkheadadjacent the opening therein.

While the brackets may be of any suitable shape and construction, theymay be advantageously provided with a base plate I 1 for attachment tothe bulkhead and with an outwardly projecting portion I8, the outer endof which is formed with an inclined face I9 for cooperating with theledge or shoulder of the associated hook. 'I'hese cooperating surfacesof the-hooks and brackets are so disposed with respect to the axis ofrotation of the hooks when the door is closed and locked that the hookscannot be forced out off engagement with the brackets by pressuretransmitted to theV door, even though the pressure be the maximum thedoor itself is designed to withstand.

Extending through the door and journaied within a cylindrical portion 20of a casting 2| mounted upon the inner face of the door is a rotatableshaft 22 forming part of mechanism for inducing rotation of the shafts9. Intermediate its ends, shaft 22 may be integrally formed with acollar 23 which is confined between the outer end ofthe cylindricalportion 20 and the anged end of a screw threaded member 24 to preventlongitudinal movement of the shaft. Rigidly mounted on the inner end ofshaft 22 is a platelike member 25 having two oppositely arranged curvedslots 26 which are eccentric with respect to the axis of the shaft.Extending within the .slots are bosses or pins 21 respectively formed onlinks or bars 28, each of which is pivotally connected at its outer endto an arm or the like 29 rigid with the adjacent shaft 9. At their innerends, each of the links is bifurcated, as indicated at 30, so as tostraddle shaft 22 and be supported thereby.

As the slots 26 in plate member 25 are eccentric with respect to theaxis of rotation of shaft 22, it will be perceived that, when the shaftis rotated, the links are caused to move toward or away from each other,depending upon the direction in which the shaft is rotated, and thusthrough the intermediacy of arms 29 impart rotation to shafts 9 and hookmembers I4. The sides of the slots 26 adjacent the ends thereof occupiedby pins 21 when the hooks are in locking 4engagement with their bracketsare practically straight and approximately normal to a line passingthrough the pins and the axis of shaft 22. By this arrange ment, inwardmovement of the links to impart an unlocking rotation to the hookscannot be accomplished except by rotating plate member 25. Furthermoresuch formation of the slots also enables a powerful leverage to beobtained in the final closing operation of the door.

To enable shaft 22 to beeasily rotated from either side of the door,both ends of the shaft are rigidly provided with levers, the lever onthe outside of the door being designated by the reference numeral II andthe lever on the inside of the door being'indicated by the referencenumeral 32 and being preferably formed as an integral extension of platemember 25. Both levers are so arranged that, when the door is secured inclosed position,

they project in a substantially horizontal direction beyond the edge ofthe door remote from the hinged edge thereof, and that, when thesecuring members are released, they extend upwardly in substantiallyvertical positions with their inner ends terminating inwardly of theupper edge of the door.

In order that one closing the door from the outside may know when it hasbeen closed sufficiently to enable the hooks I4 to engage brackets I6, akeeper 83 is mounted on the bulkhead adjacent the opening forcooperating with lever 3i. The keeper has an upwardly extending part 34terminating in an outwardly flared portion 35 to provide an inclinedsurface which is cooperable with lever 3| as it moves downwardly forforcing the door into a position wherein the hooks will properly engagethe brackets. The upper end of the keeper is so disposed that for thelever 3i to cooperate with it in the intended manner, the hooks cannotbe rotated sufficiently as to assume positions preventing or interferingwith the closing of the door.

To secure the closure along its top and bottom edges, as well as alongits side edges, additional locking members 36 are employed. Each ofthese locking members is of the same design as the hook members I4 andthey are each mounted upon a stub shaft 31 supported in bearings 38 ofthe same construction as bearings I0. Each of shafts 31 is provided witha sector gear 39 which is adapted to mesh with a similar gear 40 mountedon the adjacent end of the adjoining shaft 9. In this manner, it will beperceived thatthe stub shafts 31 and their hook members 35 will berotated by and simultaneously with shafts 9.

When links 28 vare actuated to rotate shafts 9 and 31, their outer endsmove in arcuate paths and, unless the inner ends thereof are caused tomove in corresponding paths, the links will be subjected to bendingstrains and, in addition, pins 21 will angle slightly and thus tend tobind within slots 26. To cause both ends of each link to move in similarpaths and thereby maintain the links in substantial parallelism at alltimes, the rear face of the inner portion of one of the links isprovided with a projection 4I for cooperating with a rib or the like 42on the outer end of the screw threaded cap 24 and the inner face ofplate 25 is provided with spaced brackets 43 and 44 for successivelycooperating with opposite edges of the inner portion of the other link.Projection 4I has a convexly curved outer surface of the same curvatureas the arc through which the outer ends of the links move and brackets43 and 44, which may be conveniently of angle shape, have concavelycurved outer edges also of the same curvature.

The respective positions occupied by projection 4I and by brackets 43and 44 when the door is locked are shown in Figures 7 and 8. When plate25 is rotated to move the links inwardly to unlock the door, bracket 43begins to move out of engagement with the adjacent link but at the sametime projection 4| moves into engagement with rib 42 vand thus causesthe inner vends of the links to move toward plate in an arcuate pathsimilar to vthat traversed by the outer ends of the links. At the'timethe highest point on projection 4I comes into engagement with rib 42,bracket 43.15

e moving out ofv engagement with the lower edge of the cooperating linkand bracket 44 is moving into engagement with the upper edge thereof, asshown in Figure 9. Continued rotation of plate 25 thus brings bracket44- into play to guide the inner ends i ofthe links in the desiredarcuate path during the remaining distance through which the linkstravel inwardly. The positions occupied by the brackets with respect totheir cooperating y link after the mechanism h as been moved as i'ar aspossible in an unlocking direction are illustrated in Figure 10. Inmoving the mechanism from unlocked to locked position, the inner ends ofthe links are caused' to movein the desired arcuate path by beingsuccessively actuated by the right hand hali' of projection 4|, asviewed in Figure7, and by bracket 4l.

To provide a seal against the passage of smoke.

lgas and the like. as well as to make the door waterl-tight. the innerface of the door is provided withk a gasket 45 which extends inwardlyfrom the ymarginal flange 5. The gasket may be oi' any suitable materialand is mounted between a rigid plate-like member 46 and an angle member41.

'While the `space between members 48 and 41 may be such as to receive agasket of the desired thickness, it is preferred to make it sufficientlylarge to accommodate iiller plates 48 having one ormore elongatedopenings for receiving the inner end of screws 49 whichy are threaded inthe angle yiron 41. Byemploying filler plates of varyingl thickness. itwill be perceived that gaskets ofl varyingthickness may be` likewiseernployed. Although screws 49 may be employed to' clamp the gasket inplace by bearing against the filler plates instead of extendingthroughrk openings therein, this has been foundunnecessary provided thegasket is inserted within tbe 'spaceD between members 46 and 41 whileunder' slight compression.

The inner portion of plate member 46 is offset rearwardly from thegasket, as at 50. and it nrojects beyond the inner edge of the latter toafford a seat against which the outer end of a marginal flange 5|surrounding the opening vin the bulkhead is adapted to abut, when thedoor is fully closed. Rigid with flange 5| and having a portion spacedlaterally therefrom is a member 52 which is adapted to engage the gasket39 prior to the time the outer edge of flange 5l abuts against the.offset portion 5l of. plateM.` Thus as the door approaches closedposition. member 52 defiectsthe gasket rearwardly against the offsetportion 51| and rmly compresses it when the door is fully closed.

Upon being fully closedflanges 5| and member 52, 'together constitutinglaterally spaced hortions. are krespectively in engagement with offsetportion of plate 46 and gasket 45 and the latter is firmly compressed.The gasket. of

course. makes the doortight against water and other fluids and the metalto metal contact oi' portion 50 and ange 5I effectively prevents iirefrom passing through the opening. It is to be particularly noted thatthis contact between portiony 50 and flange 5I prevents fire on theinside loi!l the door from reaching the gasket and thus, under suchcondition, the seal afforded by the gasket `will be preserved.l f

Instead of having the offset portion of plate member 46 projectsufiiciently beyond the inner end of thegasket to ailord an abutment forthe inner end of ange 5i, it may only project sufilciently so as to bedisposed closely continguous to the outer face of the end portion offlange 5I, as indicated at 53 in vFigure 12. With thisi arrangementsubstantially all the advantages of a metal to metal contact between thedoor and the bulkhead are maintained, but closing movement of the dooris not arrested by a rigid abutment and, for this reason, the gasket maybe compressed any amount permitted by the door securing mechanism.

` It will, of course, be appreciated that various sealing arrangementsmay be used on doors provided with the securing ,mechanism forming thesubject-matter of the present invention. An illustration of another formof door to which the invention is applicable is shown in Figure 13. Thedoor there shown is provided with a moi'ded sealing strip 54 which isadapted to be engaged substantially midway between its side edges by theouter end of a flange 55 bounding the opening in the bulkhead. u

In cases where the sealing gasket is under considerable pressure, itofttimes happens, particularly with doors having gaskets of the typeillustrated in Figure 13, that the gasket becomes permanen'tly groovedand, therefore, loses its sealing effect. Moreover, it sometimes happensthat on account of wear of door parts and the securing mechanism, aswell as on account of other causes, such as inaccuracies of manufacturecausing misalignment of the parts, the securing mechanism will notsecure aliportions of the door in a fully "closed position. To eliminatethese difficulties sired position of adjustment, the under side of eachis serratedas indicated at 59, so as to cooperate with the serratedouter face of a plate which is interposed between the bracket and thebulkhead and is immovable with respect to the latter. It will thus be'seen that. should the portion of the door adjacent the hook illustratedin either Figure 6 or Figure 13 not be properly'v closed when the hookhas been rotated in a lock- .ing direction as far as possible. all thatwould be necessary to effect the tight closure of that portion of thedoor would be to shift the cooperating bracket slightly to the right.

In the operation of the mechanism to secure the door in closed position,the door is first caused to assume a. position such that lever 3| may bemoved downwardly behind keeper 33. As the lever moves down the inclinedportion oi.' the upper end of the keeper, the door is forced into closedposition and shafts 9 and 31 are rotated through the intermediacy ofplate 25 and links 29 to cause the hooks I4 and 38 to move intocooperative engagement with .their respective brackets.y When the outerends of the hooks l ilrst engage the brackets, the door will occupy alposition with respect` to the opening similar tov that shown in Figure5, wherein it will be obl'served member 52 has engaged the gasket anddeflected it rearwardly a slight amount. Thus with the door onlypartially closed, a sealing effect is obtained against the passage ofsmoke, gas and the like. With the hooks in the position indicated inFigure 5, further downward movement of either of the levers 3l and 32will result in the door being forced tol tightly closed position by the"hooks camming over the outer ends of the brackets, the ultimateposition assumed by the hooks being indicated in Figure 6.

It will be manifest to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and rearrangements of parts of the specific structureillustrated and described herein may be made without departing from the`spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending applicationSerial No. 123,5010, led February 1, 1937.

What I claim is:

l. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition, said mechanism including a shaft rotatably mounted upon thedoor and extending lengthwise along a face thereof, a plurality ofmembers movable by said shaft in planes substantially normal to the axisof the shaft, each of said members having a shouldered portion adaptedto have hooked engagement with means mounted adjacent the opening to beclosed by the door, and means for rotating said shaft to actuate saidmembers.

2. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition, said mechanism including a shaft rotatably mounted upon theinner face of the door and disposed adjacent to and substantiallyparallel with a side edge thereof, a plurality of members mounted uponand movable. by said shaft in planes substantially normal to the axis ofthe latter, each of said members having a shouldered portion adapted tohave hooked engagement with means mounted adjacent the opening to beclosed by the door, and means revolubly mounted on the door for rotatingsaid shaft to actuate said members.

3. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition, said mechanism including two shafts rotatably mounted upon thedoor and respectively extending lengthwise along the inner fac'e-of thedoor adjacent opposite side edges thereof, each of said shafts beingprovided with a plurality of members movable in planes substantiallynormal to the axis of the shaft, said members respectively havingshouldered portions adapted to have hooked engagement with means mountedadjacent the opening to be closed bythe door, and means mounted on thedoor between said shafts for rotating the latter to actuate said ymembers.

-shaft and movable thereby in planes substantially normal to the axis ofthe shaft, each of said members having a shouldered portion adapted tohave hooked engagement with means mounted adjacent the opening to beclosed by the door, and means for rotating said shaft to actuate saidmembers.

5. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition, said mechanism including a shaft rotatably mounted upon theIdoor and extending lengthwisey along 'n face thereof, a plurality ofmembers movable by said shaft and respectively having shoulderedportions adapted to have hooked engagement with means mounted adjacentthe opening to be closed by the door, and means carried by the closurefor rotating said shaft to actuate said members, said means includingrotatably mounted means whose axis of rotation is substantially normalto the door, an arm rigid with the shaft, and link meansv connected tosaid arm and movable by said rotatable means.

6. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition, said mechanism including a shaft rotatably mounted upon thedoor and extending lengthwise along a face thereof, shouldered membersmounted upon said shaft adapted to have hooked engagement with meansmounted adjacent the opening to be closed by the door, and means carriedby the door for mtating said shaft to actuate said members, said meansincluding rotatable means having a curved portion eccentric with respectto the axis of rotation thereof, an arm rigid with said shaft, and linkmeans connected to said arm and having a portion cooperable with saidcurved portion whereby upon movement of said rotatable means said linkmeans is moved to rotate said shaft.

7. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition, said mechanism including two shafts rotatably mounted upon thedoor and respectively disposed adjacent to and substantially parallelwith opposite side edges thereof, each of said shafts being providedwith a plurality of shouldered members respectively adapted to havehooked engagement with means mounted adjacent the opening to be closedby the door, and means carried by the door for rotating said shafts toactuate said members, said means including rotatable means mountedbetween said shafts and having a plurality of curved portions eccentricwith respect to the axis of rotation of said means, arms respectivelyrigid with saidshafts, and link means connected to said arms andrespectively cooperable with said eccentric portions whereby movement ofsaid rotatable means induces rotation of said shafts.

8. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition, said mechanism including a plurality of angularly disposedshafts rotatably mounted upon the door and respectively extendinglengthwise along a face of the door adjacent adjoining side edgesthereof, each of said shafts being provided with one or more shoulderedmembers adapted to have hooked engagement with means mounted adjacentthe opening to be closed by the door, means mounted upon the door andoperatively connected to one of said shafts` for imparting rotationthereto, and means movably connecting said shafts for causing them torotate simultaneously.

9. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition, said mechanism including shafts rotatably mounted upon thedoor and respectively extending lengthwise along its inner face adjacentside edges thereof, said shafts having means engageable with portionsmounted adjacent the opening to be closed by the door for securing thedoor in closed position, and means for rotating said shaft, said meansincluding movable means mounted upon the closure, arms respectivelyrigid with said shafts,

links overlapping the inner face of the closure pivotally connected tosaid arms and cooperable with said movable means for imparting movementof the latter to said shafts, and means for maintaining said links insubstantial parallelism during movement thereof by said movable means.

10. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition, said mechanism yincluding shafts rotatably mounted upon thedoor and respectively extending along a face of the door adjacent sideedges thereof, members rigid with the shafts and movable thereby forengaging means to secure the door in closed position, means for rotating.said shafts including links having their outer ends respectivelypivotally connected to the shafts and movable in arcuate paths, andmeans cooperable with said links for causing the inner ends thereof tomove in corresponding arcuate paths.

11. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition, said mechanism including shafts rotatably mounted on thedoorkand respectively extending lengthwise along a face of :the dooradjacent side edges thereof, a

plurality of members mounted upon andmovable with the respective linksto cause the inner ends thereof to move in arcuate paths similar to theouter ends.

12. Mechanism for securing a door, hatch or other closure in closedposition and for tightly maintaining the door against abutment meanssurrounding the opening to be closed by the door, said.v mechanismincluding a shaft rotatably mounted on thefdoor and extending lengthwisealong a face of the door substantially parallel with and adjacent to anedge thereof, members movable by the shaft in planes substantiallynormal to the plane of the door, brackets mounted Vadjacent an edge ofthe opening to be closed by the door for respectively cooperating withsaid members, each of said brackets having an outer surface disposed atan acute angle to the plane of the door opening and each of said membershaving a shouldered portion provided with a surface adapted to haveextended bearing on said surface of the adjacent bracket for securingthe door in closed position, and means enabling said brackets to beadjustably movable toward and away from the adjacent edge of saidopening in a direction substantially parallel with the plane of theopening whereby the door, in difupon the door and extending lengthwisealong a face of the door adjacent the edge thereof opposite the hingededge, members mounted upon said shaft and movable in planessubstantially normal to the axis thereof, brackets mounted adjacent anedge of the opening to be closed by 'the door for respectivelycooperating with said members, each of said brackets having an outersurface inclined with respect tothe plane of the door opening and eachof said members having a shouldered portion provided with a surfaceadapted to have extendedy bearing on the inclined surface of theadjacent bracket to secure the door in closed position, and meansenabling said brackets to be adjustably movable toward and away from theadjacent edge of the door opening in a direction substantially parallelwith the plane of the opening whereby the door, in different positions fadjustment of the brackets, will be tightly closed against the abutmentmeans, and the extended bearing engagement oi' the coacting surfaces' ofthe brackets and members in the different positions of adjustment o! thedoor will be maintained.

WILLIAM YOUNG.

